Saturday, September 4, 2010

Okay, so in my last review I stated that a promotion can make or break a game, did I not? Well, the same counts for Demo's. Put out a GOOD demo, and people are more likely to buy a game. Bring out a bad demo that people will obviously dislike, and the expected sales of a game will plummet harder then the value BP's stocks.

Which is why is is a little bit risky, if anything to put out a demo, for the aforementioned reasons. Now today is such a day that Platinum Games, the studio behind the critically praised game ''Bayonetta'' releases their demo for their highly anticipated game ''Vanquish''. Will Vaquish be as good as a jewel as Bayonetta was? Or will this demo vanquish (See what I did there?) the reputation of Platinum Games? Click '"Read More'' To find out!

Now, first of all, if I play a game by a Japanese developer, I always tend to look at the options first. The options say something about a game, which you may not have noticed. ''How much do the developers think of the fans and playability of the game'', this is the subliminal message that option menus sometimes bring along with them. So, when I first checked it out, I was pleasently surprised that you could change the voices, subtitles, and even MENU'S in Japanese, something that was lacking in Bayonetta. Also included are your more standard options like sensitivity for aiming, walking, all that snazz.

Also with the options comes the feature to customize controls. Now let my just say, the control system WORKS. I never really felt that I had to twist or jiggle my hand around to perform a certain movement, or that I was frantically searching for a button. Most of it feels familiar, and makes sense. Obviously, this being a shooter, you lefties out there get some loving too as well, so there is no reason to blame the control scheme.

The Demo features an option for a tutorial, which is always nice, and I jumped straight into that. Before seeing some witty dialogue, the first thing that I noticed were the graphics. They look good, and good, oh, and did I mention that they look good? You are welcomed with some MGS-like dialogue boxes and everything delivered just feels right with the environment, it just fits.

The graphics are certainly top-notch

So after a brief tutorial which introduced me to the aiming, dodging, and the boosting ad the punching, I decided the be so bold and actually play the demo. Being thrown in some random mission, I expected a simple generic shooter. What I got was so much more different. Your character gets thrown in a large scale battlefield, with chaos everywhere. Here's your gun, good luck. This makes sure that the game actually feels like a combat zone, the action is swift, high-paced and honestly awesome. While there is cover here and there, you will get fired on in every direction. Fortunately, your dodges and some aid of a time-slowing mechanism will assist you, but don't get me wrong, this doesn't make the game easy....at all.

The game doesn't sport a visual healthbar for yourself, instead it makes your vision redder and redder, a-la COD and Gears of War. When your health runs out, you automatically enter a slow-motion state, in which you go at normal speed, while he enemies move slower, where your remaining fuel acts as a timer for the slow-mo. However, you will be under constant fire, so don't expect to stroll in guns blazing an expect to rely on the slow-motion. You get a very small window of time to find cover in that slow-mo, or else you are dead. With that said, Vanquish is a hard game on normal mode in my experience, but definitely impossible. Just don't expect normal mode to be the same as COD's Normal mode or your (Insert other shooter here)'s Normal mode.

Expect this....a LOT

After eventually dying over and over again, you finally reach a point where you get to fight against Vanquish bosses. Platinum Games are known for being over the top, and they certainly didn't hold back here. Fighting against what is best touted as a Metal Gear-ish Spider with future technology, the thing is really a marvel to look at. Oh right, we need to kill it, not store at it, my bad! Anyhoo, unlike most ''Shooter'' bosses, this one actually takes some trouble to kill. The patterns are erratic and un-logical, which is only a plus, as it keeps it interesting every-time you fight such a boss. Also, you really get immersed in the ''Warzone'' feeling, as the Spider really just fires at everything, including squad-mates. It really gives you a feeling of being part of an army, and making you think ''We are fighting this thing, as a team, as a whole'', plus, the fact that you get penalized for having squad members die also is an added nudge to said feeling.

Now, the boss fights are of a great length, long enough to waste the ammo of different weapons, but short enough to not make you feel like it is taking foreveeeeeeeer. There is a surprise after you beat the spider, but I won't spoil too much for you guys.

'Scuse me, coming through!

All in all, I would SURELY recommend the Vanquish demo if you are even remotely interested into shooters. The action is high-paced, amazing, slick and sometimes breathtaking, and even it a chaotic battlefield, it doesn't lag one single bit. The graphics look amazing, and again, are consistent and beautiful. A challenging Demo, that leaves you wanting for more, congratulations, Platinum Games, you just won over a customer. Here's to looking forward to reviewing your Full Game! (Hint Hint, Nudge Nudge)

@Red, if I am correct I did mention the atmosphere in the game itself, as for the gameplay, I did note out that the game feels familiar and feels like all shooters, I can't judge an entire game from a demo though, which is why I am waiting for the full game.

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A gamer who always looks beyond the first glance. With a passion for writing and gaming, the ''Melancritic'' Matt Tosiek will provide honest reviews about all sorts of games.